1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to handling using hand and hoist-line implements, and more particularly to a sanitary handler for pet droppings.
2. Description of the Related Art
All living creatures require energy in the form of food, and naturally produce waste. Presumably throughout much of unrecorded history, both man and animals would have excreted waste wherever convenient to the being. With low population densities of man and animals, nature provided the tools for sufficiently rapid decomposition of the waste to not generally interfere with the animals' life cycle.
Gradually, as population densities increased, so did the need for more sanitary waste management. This may have been primarily to reduce both the likelihood and the spread of disease, but also was likely supported by a desire to reduce the unpleasant exposure to waste in the course of an ordinary day, and also a desire for an increase in the privacy of individuals.
Initially, only human waste was of concern and so sanitary facilities were developed. Original facilities for people included pit toilets with and without enclosures, and eventually, with the development of indoor plumbing, water closets and bathrooms were developed. These served people well, but animal droppings including those of horses and dogs were allowed to be left at the discretion or convenience of the animal. Since horses were the primary mode of transportation for many centuries, there was no effective way to eliminate or fully remove the excrements of animals, nor was the animal waste considered particularly hazardous or bothersome.
With the gradual understanding and acceptance of microbiological theories such as presented by Louis Pasteur, mankind learned that animal waste presented another vector for disease transmission, and that, as a result, the waste could be harmful to humans either through direct contact or through consumption or contact with waters contaminated by the animal waste. Modern technology has enabled mankind to not only identify microbes including bacteria, viruses, and yeasts and fungi, but also to identify a particular source with certainty. As a result, a number of disease vectors that were previously uncertain have been determined. Such particularity has enabled mankind to identify a disease outbreak, determine the microbial cause, which for exemplary purposes might be the well-known E. Coli, and then identify the source down to a particular farm and animals such as manure from cattle on the farm.
This has furthered a gradual evolution in the thoughts of many people on the acceptability of animal waste being left solely to the convenience of the animal. While there may have always been an unpleasantness associated with animal excrement, the recognition of potential life-threatening harm has further fueled a wide-spread promulgation of local rules and ordinances that require pet owners to take responsibility for the removal of animal waste produced by their pets.
Whether through an inherent awareness of social responsibility or because of local rules and ordinances, many modern pet owners must promptly clean up excrement. Wile many animals produce unpleasant and potentially harmful excrement, dogs are a most common source of dropped excrement in public areas, in part because dogs are not normally trained to use a litter box and also because necessary exercise tends to stimulate dogs to excrete waste. As a person walks the dog or allows the dog to run, the stimulation of activity and new sights and smells will very commonly cause the dog to excrete waste. Since the dog is walking or moving about, this waste will frequently be dropped along public trails, sidewalks, in public parks, or in other areas where the waste will either preferably or through mandate need to be removed.
Most commonly, the pet owner will carry low-cost plastic bags. These bags can be folded about the person's hand like a mitten or glove to allow the pet owner to grasp the excrement. Then the bag may be folded from the person's hand to fully encompass and contain the excrement within the bag. When the walk is completed, or at any other convenient time during the walk, one or more of these used bags may be disposed of in a suitable trash receptacle.
While many pet owners still use ordinary and general-purpose bags, a number of bags have been designed specifically for this purpose. Exemplary U.S. patents, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,251 by Jacobs, entitled “Glove-like waste disposal system”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,697 by Hayes, entitled “Clean up glove”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,818 by Kolic, entitled “Disposable litter pick-up mitt”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,708 by Jacovitz, entitled “Manual waste collection, containment, and disposal device”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,955 by Giuliano et al, entitled “Device for individual collection of pet excrements”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,882 by Leutholt, entitled “Petpotty-pickup”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,668 by Carpol, entitled “Animal solid waste collection”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,971 by Ward Gilley, entitled “Sleeved invertible glove for collection and disposal of materials”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,961 by Demeur et al, entitled “Reversible mit for disposal of waste debris”.
While this method of excrement removal is in concept both efficient and effective, most dog owners quickly realize that there are a number of drawbacks. Among these are the difficulty associated with cleaning up excrement without contaminating not only the bag interior but also the exterior. In such case, subsequent transport of the bag until a trash receptacle can be reached is difficult to do without accidental smearing of the excrement onto the person, their clothing or other belongings. Additionally, if a small and more economical and environmentally friendly bag is used to clean the excrement, the bag may also be very difficult to close and seal, and an open bag is more hazardous to carry for any length of time. The pet owner's attention is normally directed to the activities of the dog and surroundings, and so it is easy and common for a distracted owner to accidentally make contact with the excrement. Even with a much larger bag, the closing of the bag can also be difficult to do cleanly if the excrement has accidentally been smeared onto the exterior of the bag or near the bag opening. The low-cost bags are also generally quite thin, and so may be accidentally torn or punctured while being carried, again undesirably exposing the person directly to the waste. In addition, holding a used bag for an extended period is quite undesirable.
In an effort to provide a better way to transport used bags, various artisans have proposed apparatus suitable for this purpose. Exemplary U.S. patents, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, include U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,590 by Polding, entitled “Dog leash with bag container”, which provides a bag container stitched to a dog leash; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,038,188 by Nolan-Brown, entitled “Pet waste cleanup kit”, which provides an organized cleanup kit that hangs from a leash, and from which used bags may be suspended.
A number of other artisans have devised various other ways to assist with pet excrement removal and disposal. Exemplary patents, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,422 by Cabaluna, entitled “Concealed litter bag cane device”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,500 by Almog, entitled “Disposable plastic bags”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,572 by Peck et al, entitled “Poop scooping and packaging assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,201,862 by Langley, entitled “Device for collecting and containing solid or liquid substances, including animal or human waste”. Each of these patents illustrate various alternatives to the process of manually folding a bag about a person's hand, and are used to directly pick up animal excrement.
The following additional patents are incorporated herein by reference for their various teachings and enablements, including: U.S. Pat. No. 1,586,147 by Flory, entitled “Hand bag”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,841 by Rafeldt, entitled “Refuse containers, particularly for vehicles”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,994 by Wharmby, entitled “Bag holder”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,833 by Cook, entitled “Multiple use bag”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,201 by Cook, entitled “Bag mouth closure structure”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,464,394 by Galomb, entitled “Handle-pour spout closure for flexible packages, flexible packages including the same and method of making such flexible packages”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,619 by Sulpizio, entitled “Disposable lawn bag”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,491 by Kohl et al, entitled “Wide open feature for reclosable bags”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,753,322 by Peterson, entitled “Portable bag holder employing elastic band”. In addition to the patents mentioned herein above, Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition copyright 1983, is incorporated herein by reference in entirety for the definitions of words and terms used herein.